"BRICS as Reformist Bridge Between Global South and Western Order"
New Development Bank (NDB)
BRICS-established multilateral lender headquartered in Shanghai, financing infrastructure in member and non-member developing countries.
Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
A $100 billion BRICS currency swap pool providing short-term balance-of-payments liquidity support to members.
BRICS began as a Goldman Sachs marketing concept for grouping major emerging economies. Politicians formalised it as a political club at the first leaders' summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. The original four members were Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined in 2010, completing the BRICS acronym and becoming the last of the original five to enter. The grouping's founding logic was that Western-led institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, and the UN Security Council did not adequately represent the economic weight of large emerging economies. BRICS positioned itself as a platform for collective advocacy toward a more representative global governance architecture.
The grouping's most concrete institutional achievement came from the Fortaleza Declaration of 2014, adopted at the 6th BRICS Summit in Brazil. This declaration formally established the New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai, with an initial authorised capital of $100 billion. The NDB became operational in 2015 and was designed as an alternative to Western-dominated multilateral lenders. A companion mechanism, the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), a $100 billion currency swap pool, provides short-term liquidity support to members facing balance-of-payments stress. These two institutions gave BRICS real financial architecture beyond declarations.
BRICS is a heterogeneous organisation. It spans diverse political systems, economic models, and strategic interests. The NDB has financed 120 sustainable infrastructure projects worth around $39 billion and has committed 30 per cent of its financing in local currencies. It has also expanded membership to include non-BRICS countries. India contributed $2 billion in paid-in capital to the NDB and pledged $18 billion to the CRA, reflecting a substantial financial commitment to the grouping's institutional architecture.
The grouping's consensus-based decision-making was manageable with five members sharing broadly similar reform goals. Expansion has complicated this. In 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE joined as full members, bringing total membership to eleven. …
With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements:
1.The First Summit of BRICS was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2009.
2.South Africa was the last to join the BRICS grouping.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The 'Fortaleza Declaration', recently in the news, is related to the affairs of
Consider the following statements:
1.New Development Bank has been set up by APEC.
2.The headquarters of New Development Bank is in Shanghai.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements with regard to BRICS:
I.16th BRICS Summit was held under the Chairship of Russia in Kazan.
II.Indonesia has become a full member of BRICS.
III.The theme of the 16th BRICS Summit was 'Strengthening Multiculturalism for Just Global Development and Security'.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements regarding BRICS:
1.The first BRICS leaders' summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
2.South Africa was the last of the original five members to join BRICS.
3.Indonesia became the 11th full member of BRICS in January 2025.
4.The 16th BRICS Summit was held under China's chairship.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Consider the following statements regarding the New Development Bank (NDB):
1.It was established through the Fortaleza Declaration adopted at the 2014 BRICS Summit.
2.Its headquarters is located in Beijing, China.
3.It has committed 30 per cent of its financing in local currencies.
4.It was set up by APEC member countries.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match the following BRICS financial mechanisms with their correct descriptions:
List I (Mechanism) — List II (Description)
A.New Development Bank — 1. $100 billion currency swap pool for balance-of-payments support
B.Contingent Reserve Arrangement — 2. Multilateral bank financing sustainable infrastructure without political conditionalities
C.Fortaleza Declaration — 3. The 2014 BRICS Summit document that established both A and B
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
With reference to BRICS and its trade profile, consider the following statements:
1.BRICS accounts for over 20 per cent of global trade.
2.Intra-BRICS trade grew from $84 billion in 2003 to $1.17 trillion in 2024, according to a UNCTAD report.
3.China's nominal GDP in 2025 was larger than the combined GDP of the other ten BRICS members.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best describes BRICS's stated normative orientation?
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